Reid: Obama/McCain Agreement on Immigration

President-elect Barack Obama and his former general election rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), have come to an agreement on immigration, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid told the Detroit Free Press in a recent interview.

Reid said the two standard-bearers have agreed to move forward on immigration legislation during Obama’s White House tenure.

“On immigration, there’s been an agreement between Obama and McCain to move forward on that,” Reidsaid when how Congress would handle immigration and healthcare with expanded Democratic majorities and Obama in the White House.

Early on in their general election campaign, both McCain and Obama pledged to enact sweeping immigration reforms. McCain attempted to pass a massive immigration bill during the last Congress, forging alliances with such heavyweights as Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and President Bush. McCain proposed granting a pathway to citizenship for illegal resident aliens and ramping up security efforts along the U.S./Mexico border. The effort failed.

When asked if immigration reform would cause “as much of a fight” in Congress the next time it comes up, Reid cited McCain as a key GOP ally who could enable Democrats to enact reforms.

“We’ve got McCain and we’ve got a few others. I don’t expect much of a fight at all,” Reid said.

The Detroit Free Press posted Reid’s interview to its website Sunday.